{
  "id": 9680554,
  "title": "SC commutes death sentence of man who raped, murdered 6-yr-old stepdaughter",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/sc-commutes-death-sentence-of-man-who-raped-murdered-6-yr-old",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-25T02:23:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/sc-commutes-death-sentence-of-man-who-raped-murdered-6-yr-old-stepdaughter-101790277801702.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Thursday, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence of Waris, a 56-year-old man, who had raped and murdered his six-year-old stepdaughter in 2018. The court deemed his death sentence to be disproportionate given his good behavior in jail and lack of prior criminal history.\n\nThe incident occurred in Madhya Pradesh when the stepfather raped the child over months. When he discovered she had told her mother, he allegedly throttled her to death on April 21, 2018 - the same day the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018 was enacted, which increased the punishment for rape of a girl under 12 years old to a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of death.\n\nThe court noted that as a stepfather, Waris betrayed the trust placed in him as a protector, transforming himself into the predator. The court cited the victim's \"silence in life\" as being \"not silenced in law\" through her mother's testimony and the marks on her body.\n\nWaris had three former wives who left him due to his violent behavior, and by December 2018, the trial court had sentenced him to death for murder and rape. However, the Supreme Court found that the material for an individualized assessment of the accused was not properly considered at the time of sentencing.\n\nThe court directed a psychological evaluation, which confirmed Waris was mentally and physically fit. They also considered his troubled childhood, impoverished upbringing, and his satisfactory behavior towards other inmates. Balancing the aggravating circumstances against the mitigating factors, the court commuted Waris' death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of remission.",
  "summary": "The Supreme Court on Thursday commuted death sentence of a man who raped and murdered his six-year old stepdaughter and directed him to remain in jail for the rest of his life without remission observing that when the protector turns predator, it strikes not only at the child but at the security of a family relationship",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}